BACKGROUND
In contrast to businesses providing shareholder value through revenue generation and profit sharing, the public sector operates from a monetary public entrustment to provide public goods and services for the benefit of society, referred to as the generation of public value. The public investments made to generate public goods obligate the public sector to understand the vision and goals of the served community. Further, the public sector must be efficient, effective, and resilient in managing its resources to create public value.
Transportation agencies build public value through their investments in transportation networks and services for system users by providing safe and efficient access to destinations. Ideally, this public value would reinforce sustained public confidence in transportation agencies to achieve societal goals through investments in projects and services. However, quantifying and communicating public value is a challenge to transportation agencies at all levels of government. Research is needed to assist transportation agencies in identifying and communicating the public value generated for communities.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this project is to develop a guide that (1) defines public value for transportation agencies; (2) identifies methods for assessing, measuring, and communicating the public value generated by transportation; and (3) showcases the role public value creation plays in achieving societal goals.
Accomplishment of the project objective will require at least the following tasks.
TASKS
The sequencing of tasks to achieve the project objective and associated deliverables, such as technical memoranda or summary reports, shall be structured in the same cadence as quarterly progress report (QPR) submissions so that technical content and a QPR can be reviewed simultaneously. The overall research plan must be organized into three phases. The research team shall deliver an interim report and updated research plan at the end of Phases I and II. One month shall be reserved for review and NCHRP approval of each interim report. NCHRP approval is required to advance to the next phase. An in-person interim meeting shall follow Phase I, and a virtual interim meeting shall follow Phase II.
For proposal consideration, a clear and concise engagement strategy to achieve the project objective shall be developed and presented in the proposal under the header “Engagement Strategy.” Engagement is envisioned for two purposes:
- Identify opportunities throughout the research plan to gain input or highlight research results with stakeholders, including the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Performance-Based Management, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Standing Committee on Strategic Management – AJE10, and the TRB Standing Committee on Performance Management – AJE20.
- Hold two virtual workshops at the end of Phase II to vet the research outcomes with (1) a range of transportation agencies to determine whether the research outcomes meet practitioners' needs and (2) individuals on existing transportation advisory boards to state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, transit agencies, and so forth to determine whether the research outcomes resonate or help demonstrate public value.
PHASE I
The research team should begin with a scan of practice and a literature review. Both items should include non-transportation agencies with experience demonstrating their public value that may be relevant to transportation. Phase I shall not exceed 6 months and includes the following task elements:
- Identify examples of public agencies demonstrating proficiency with public value relevant to transportation. Performance measures used by public agencies and linkages to policy decision-making should be emphasized.
- Review, synthesize, and document transportation agency efforts with public value. This process may include (1) conducting a meta-analysis of post-COVID-19 public surveys already conducted by public agencies that capture qualitative information/data on public value or attitudes and (2) determining whether existing performance management frameworks from transportation agencies have measures, metrics, data collection, or analyses that help inform public value. Any gaps in existing performance management frameworks shall be documented to help determine what should be addressed in Phase II.
- Define public value for transportation agencies.
- Explain how public value is helping to achieve societal goals or community-centered transportation outcomes and meet public expectations. The research team may consider the Faulkner and Kaufman framework, societal goals, and foundational factors identified in Critical Issues in Transportation for 2024 and Beyond or the vision and goals presented in the NCHRP Research Results Digest 404: Collective and Individual Actions to Envision and Realize the Next Era of America’s Transportation Infrastructure: Phase 1.
PHASE II
The research team shall develop methods that can be implemented to assess, measure, and communicate public value creation by transportation agencies. Hypothetical case examples shall be created to guide transportation practitioners and decision-makers on how to execute these methods. These case examples should be thematic and represent anonymized, real-world experiences of transportation agencies. Themes for the case examples should be proposed in the updated Phase II Research Plan but should address different types of transportation system users to increase understanding of the public value generated from multimodal investments.
Phase II shall not exceed 12 months, with 3 months devoted to developing methods and case examples. The final 3 months shall be devoted to holding the virtual workshops and preparing the Phase II Interim Report and updated Phase III Research Plan, which should include an annotated outline of the draft guide.
PHASE III
Phase III shall be reserved for the preparation of the final deliverables. The methods and case examples developed in Phase II shall be assembled into a guide. For the proposal, the research team should consider at least the following as final deliverables:
- A practitioner’s guide, which may include a simplified tool as a supplemental deliverable, no later than 4 months before contract expiration;
- A conduct of research report;
- An executive brief comprising a maximum of 10 pages with infographics to quickly communicate the overall research outcomes to decision-makers;
- A PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes that summarizes the project and distinctly illustrates for a broader audience how the research can be applied; and
- An implementation plan.
STATUS: A response has been received for this RFP. The project panel will meet to determine next steps.